Reboot of Sherlock Holmes is 'captivaating and whipsmart'
The ongoing reboots of Arthur Conan Doyle's genius detective has kept his creation on trend well into the twenty-first century.
Jennifer Dick's boutique stage version for Bard in the Botanics' latest non-Shakespeare outing stays true to the forensic peccadilloes of Conan Doyle's original while putting a feminist spin on things.
Dick weaves together three stories; The Adventure of Abbey Grange, A Scandal in Bohemia, and The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton.
At the centre of these is Irene Adler, aka The Woman, the former actress and opera singer who left her mark on the Conan Doyle canon after getting the better of Holmes.
As both seasoned Sherlockians and Wikipedia will tell you, however, Irene only ever appeared in one original Holmes story.
That was A Scandal in Bohemia, first published in the Strand magazine in1881 as the first of 56 Holmes missives following two novels.
Dick's considerable liberty taking with her source material to make Irene a recurring character not only works, but her talent for reinvention provides extra-added intrigue to both her own story and her relationship with Holmes.
The first tale finds Irene working as a maid who becomes chief witness to the murder of a drink fuelled wife beater. The second sees her move up in the world enough to be able to manipulate the fate of the womanising King of Bohemia. The third reunites Irene with Holmes and Watson to take on a vicious blackmailer who has already destroyed several women's lives.
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The result is a captivating and whip-smart concoction that moves briskly over its ninety-minute duration in a manner as classy as the string based musical accompaniment and the furniture of Heather Grace Currie's set.
Seen up close in the Kibble Palace, the merry dance Holmes and Watson are led on by Irene sees the dynamic duo bumbling and fumbling around as Holmes lets his new nemesis off the hook several times over.
Stephen Arden makes a stoic and long suffering Watson, and Adam Donaldson's Holmes is a hyper-smart if somewhat foppish sociopath who can't stop Irene seeing through his disguise every time.
James Boal, meanwhile, steps up first as the indefatigable Inspector Lestrade before morphing into assorted sailors, monarchs and blackmailers.
All three play second fiddle to Rebecca Robin's shape shifting turn as Irene, who champions womankind like some steam punk Valerie Solanis by way of Modesty Blaise.
As the tension between Irene and Holmes simmers, the result is an unsolvable case of Sherlock in love as the great detective finally meets his match.
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North Wales Live
5 hours ago
- North Wales Live
National Eisteddfod 2025: Everything to expect and how to get there
The National Eisteddfod, one of Europe's biggest cultural festivals, will be staged in Wrexham, Wales' newest city, this year. In recent weeks Eisteddfod staff and contractors have transformed farmland at Is-y-Coed on the eastern outskirts of Wrexham, into a small town with a 1,500 seat pavilion, a range of performance spaces and stalls as well as a temporary Gorsedd circle. The Eisteddfod marks the culmination of more than two years of organizing and fundraising by local people. Llinos Roberts, Chairman of the Executive Committee, said realising a festival as big as the Eisteddfod is not easy and she paid tribute to the staff for their vision and perseverance. "I would like to thank everyone in Wrexham from the bottom of my heart for their tireless work over the past year creating a new buzz and raising awareness of our language and culture throughout the county," she said. She emphasized that the National Eisteddfod is a Festival for everyone. "It's been nice to see confident speakers, new speakers and non-Welsh speakers as an integral part of our local committees. Thank you all for their time, energy and creativity in organising and contributing to such a great variety of fundraising events and their input in creating a comprehensive programme throughout the week. "Our new city, which is famous all over the world thanks to the success of the football team, is the heart of it all. But what is most special about the area is its people with their deep pride in their heritage, their resilient determination, and their unwavering passion for the Welsh language in an area that is so close to the border," added Mrs Roberts. This year's Eisteddfod will be the ninth visit to the Wrexham area having made its first visit in 1876. That year became known as the first time in modern Eisteddfod history with a "Black Chair". The winning poet, Thomas Jones, (Taliesin from Eifion), had died hours after posting his poem to the adjudicators. It is said that his last words were "Is the ode delivered safely?" There were detailed reports of the Eisteddfod in period newspapers of the ceremony. Under the heading 'The Chair without the Bard' one report noted: "The Chair was there, but the Chaired Poet was in THE GRAVE! "Out of seven competitors, his ode was declared the best. A funeral robe was spread over the Chair, and the Gorsedd walked around it." The 1912 Eisteddfod witnessed a rare double winner when Thomas Parry-Williams scooped the Crown and the Chair at the festival. The poet turned up for the ceremony unaware he was the winner and sat at the rear of the massive pavilion and could barely hear his nom de plume being called. The chairing ceremony was preceeded by a speech from David Lloyd-George. This was interupted by a group of Suffragettes calling for women to be allowed to vote in elections. Reports note they were forcibly ejected. In 1933 the Eisteddfod was again staged in Wrexham and notably featured a chair for the winning poet crafted in China. The 1945 National Eisteddfod was staged at Rhosllannerchrugog and competition was halted by the dramatic news that the war in Japan had ended. This year a minute's silence will be called on the 80th anniversary of the detonation of an atomic bomb above the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The Eisteddfod was last held in Wrexham in 2011. Ashok Ahir, President of the Court and Chairman of the Eisteddfod's Management Board, said that he was looking forward to the Eisteddfod. "As a travelling festival the challenges change from year to year but the purpose of our work remains the same - to promote, preserve and protect the heritage and culture of Wales and the Welsh language," he said. The National Eisteddfod starts on Saturday, August 2 and continues until Saturday, August 9. For more details online, visit With around 150,000 visitors every year, the event has numerous ways to get to it and enjoy. Maes B, the caravan and family camping ground, Hwyrnos and the Maes B tent site, together with the car parks are all close to the Eisteddfod Maes. Eisteddfod officials have made special travel arrangements with Wrexham Council, North Wales Police, Transport for Wales and other agencies. By car Travelling to the Maes by car? Follow the yellow 'Eisteddfod' signs to get to the Maes. The signs are there to help drivers, and Eisteddfod officials have worked on the traffic management plan with the local council and emergency services, to create a plan to get to the Maes as easily and safely as possible. Signs will encourage everyone to approach the Maes from junction 6 (Gresford) on the A483. Traffic from the A55 will follow the signs from the traffic lights at the junction of the A483 and the B5445 (Belgrave), and will be directed south to junction 6 (Gresford) on the A483. Traffic from the direction of Mold on the A541 (junction 5, A483), Ruthin area on the A525 (junction 4, A483), Rhosllannerchrugog area on the B5605 (junction 3, A483), Johnstown on the B5426, Bangor Road (junction 2, A483) and Llangollen /Dee Valley area on the A5 (junction 1, A483) will be directed northbound to junction 6 (Gresford) on the A483. Traffic from the Oswestry area on the A5 (including south Wales traffic) will leave the A483 at junction 6 (Gresford). Traffic from the A525 Bangor-on-Dee area will pick up signage on the approach to the south side of the industrial estate at Cross Lanes traffic lights. Traffic will be advised to turn right here on to the B5130 towards Holt, passing through Talwrn and Bowling Bank before turning left on to Ridley Wood Road. Parking Follow the signs to the car parks and don't park on the side of the road. Stewards will direct vehicles in the car park. Parking is free. *Disabled visitors with a blue badge should follow the signs to the disabled car park* Drop off points There's a dedicated area for buses and taxis to pick up and drop off passengers close to the entrance. There will be clear signs to guide drivers to these points. Trains Wrexham General is one of the main railway stations between north and south Wales, and it also links to the north Wales Main Line via the Wrexham Central to Bidston service. Trains will run regularly throughout the day and late into the evening. Transport for Wales (TfW) and Avanti West Coast are running extra services during the week of the Eisteddfod. This will include eight extra services on Saturday and Sunday and twelve extra services from Monday to Friday. More details online at You can also use the Traveline Cymru website - to plan your journey. Dogs are allowed on the trains. Buses Wrexham has a wide network of public buses running throughout the day and evening. More information on local bus services are available online at TrawsCymru service T3 will also serve the Maes every two hours from Wrexham Bus Station. The T3 service opens up direct access to the Maes from Barmouth, Dolgellau, Bala, Corwen and Llangollen. Shuttle buses between the Maes and the city A free shuttle bus service will run frequently between the railway station, the bus station in the city centre and the Maes from 8am until midnight. These buses are low-level vehicles, suitable for wheelchairs. You can bring your dog on the shuttle buses.
Scotsman
a day ago
- Scotsman
Online Safety Act petition: 300,000 sign petition to repeal
The new Online Safety Act rules came into force last week 🚨 Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Online Safety Act's age verification rules came into force on July 25. A petition calling to repeal it has passed 300,000 signatures. But what will happen next - and will it be debated? A petition urging the government to repeal the new Online Safety Act has passed 300,000 signatures - just days after the new rules came into force. The changes came into effect on Friday (July 25), and one of the measures included requiring UK residents to verify their ages before accessing websites with pornography or other content that could be considered harmful to children. This can be done by uploading a picture of yourself for 'facial age estimation' or a photo of ID. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Online Safety Act requires users to verify their ages to access certain websites. |It is not just porn websites that have been affected, with popular sites like Reddit, X, Bluesky and Wikipedia also now having to enforce the rules. Internet users were quick to bemoan the new regulations and raise privacy concerns. Some savvy internet users have found a way around the rules - by using images of The Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus from the video game Death Stranding 2 - instead of their own faces. Hundreds of thousands of people quickly flocked to a petition calling for the bill to be repealed. Started by Alex Baynham it has been signed more than 330,000 times at the time of writing (July 28). Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The petition states: 'We want the Government to repeal the Online Safety act. We believe that the scope of the Online Safety act is far broader and restrictive than is necessary in a free society. 'For instance, the definitions in Part 2 covers online hobby forums, which we think do not have the resources to comply with the act and so are shutting down instead. 'We think that Parliament should repeal the act and work towards producing proportionate legislation rather than risking clamping down on civil society talking about trains, football, video games or even hamsters because it can't deal with individual bad faith actors.' Having passed the 100,000 signature threshold it will be considered for a debate in Parliament - and will also get an official response from the government. Wikipedia has also launched a legal challenge at the High Court, which is set to be heard this week. What do you think of the Online Safety Act rules - is it worth it to keep children safe on the internet? Let me know your thoughts by email: .
Scotsman
a day ago
- Scotsman
Online Safety Act petition: 300,000 sign petition to repeal
The new Online Safety Act rules came into force last week 🚨 Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Online Safety Act's age verification rules came into force on July 25. A petition calling to repeal it has passed 300,000 signatures. But what will happen next - and will it be debated? A petition urging the government to repeal the new Online Safety Act has passed 300,000 signatures - just days after the new rules came into force. The changes came into effect on Friday (July 25), and one of the measures included requiring UK residents to verify their ages before accessing websites with pornography or other content that could be considered harmful to children. This can be done by uploading a picture of yourself for 'facial age estimation' or a photo of ID. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Online Safety Act requires users to verify their ages to access certain websites. |It is not just porn websites that have been affected, with popular sites like Reddit, X, Bluesky and Wikipedia also now having to enforce the rules. Internet users were quick to bemoan the new regulations and raise privacy concerns. Some savvy internet users have found a way around the rules - by using images of The Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus from the video game Death Stranding 2 - instead of their own faces. Hundreds of thousands of people quickly flocked to a petition calling for the bill to be repealed. Started by Alex Baynham it has been signed more than 330,000 times at the time of writing (July 28). Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The petition states: 'We want the Government to repeal the Online Safety act. We believe that the scope of the Online Safety act is far broader and restrictive than is necessary in a free society. 'For instance, the definitions in Part 2 covers online hobby forums, which we think do not have the resources to comply with the act and so are shutting down instead. 'We think that Parliament should repeal the act and work towards producing proportionate legislation rather than risking clamping down on civil society talking about trains, football, video games or even hamsters because it can't deal with individual bad faith actors.' Having passed the 100,000 signature threshold it will be considered for a debate in Parliament - and will also get an official response from the government. Wikipedia has also launched a legal challenge at the High Court, which is set to be heard this week.
